Structure and the History of Religions: Some Bhakti Examples Author(s): Charles S. J. White Source: History of Religions, Vol.

18, No. 1 (Aug., 1978), pp. 77-94 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062249 Accessed: 03/11/2010 10:18
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Charles S. J. White

AND STRUCTURE THE OF HISTORY RELIGIONS: SOME EXAMPLES BHAKTI

METHODOLOGICAL

INTRODUCTION

Implicit in the analysis that follows is the contention that, at least as concerns Hinduism, not enough effort has been expended on the matter of providing exact categories for interpretation. This can be described further as a tendency to intellectualize religious meaning at the cost of the various historical patterns. The technique of interpretation becomes an overriding consideration simply on the basis of the vast amounts of empirical material and historical time, the achievement and transformation involved in the creation of the religious structures. Without taking seriously the questions as to how we shall gather, correlate, analyze, and ultimately understand the religious productivity of mankind-if we simply wade into religion grasping and clutching at what attracts our imagination-then we fall into the error of improvisationism. One hears it said jokingly sometimes that history is just one thing after that historical events really happen more or another-implying less at random. But is this the case? Is history different from other human givens or, for that matter, from those at large in the
This article was originally contributed to The Mythic Imagination, a special issue of History of Religions (May 1977) dedicated to Mircea Eliade in honor of his seventieth birthday. ( 1978 by The University of Chicago. 0018-2710/79/1801-0007$01.51 77

Structure and the History of Religions universe? Might it not be said to the contrary that, insofar as one's analysis applies to the intercorrelation of particular historical religious elements within provisional wholes, one's judgments must be structuralist in origin and participate in the conformities appropriate to the life of man and the various progressions of all phenomena? There is another error that obtrudes upon the history of religions. This is the error of abstractionism. Even if one wished to, the subtlety of the abstract theory, often worked out with great effort and to satisfy preconceived ends, sometimes in the most remote loneliness from the field of religious history, makes it the more difficult to approach-the more so when, as a normative system, it tends to color the whole content of thought in a given period.' But these objections aside, one's commitment very simply is to understand; and one cannot understand without having a content, a matrix, a system of empirical relations. The material of one's study, unfortunately, and particularly at the beginning, appears formidably en bloc. The problem is to discover how this en bloc history is even minimally to be organized. It would seem that the terms of this organization-its classifications, genres, and periods -arise from within itself. At least for what follows, one does not have to invent a term "bhakti" to apply to a dualistic, devotional religious movement; rather, the term itself can be used, because it was so used in Indian religion, as a technical, typological category in the discussion of religious structure. Globally, it is in the with certain other process of coming into such usage-together nomenclatures of Hindu origin. As a concept, bhakti rests upon a foundation of immense complexity whose dimensions have been only briefly glimpsed. One begins to see the structures that rise upon the foundation, together with their transformations. The first level2 in our task of grasping the data must be flexible and insofar as possible completely unbiased, allowing everything to assume its own place and make its own statement with respect to its empirical ties. It must be admitted, however, that the organizational work begins almost immediately whenever we have data presented to us; the matrix itself conveniently organizes what
1 I refer to such theories as Thomism, Positivism, Marxism, or Freudianism in their less flexible forms. 2 For further discussion of the methodological background of this analysis, please see Charles S. J. White, "The Sai Baba Movement: Approaches to the Study of Indian Saints," Journal of Asian Studies 31, no. 4 (August 1972): 863-78; and by the same author, "Swami Muktananda and the Enlightenment through Qakti Pat," History of Religions 13, no. 4 (May 1974): 306-22.
78

History of Religions is presented according to what is known, but its principles are subject to revision, and decisions have to be made with respect to the way in which our best current information can force relocations in placements in the emerging patterns. And hence we are soon carried to the second level, that of the organization. There one finds the ways in which to describe the patterns in which historical events are organized, and one begins to grasp the character of structure. Structuralism, as it is sometimes called, asserts the possibility to understand holistically in a way precise enough to account for the succession and interrelation of events or moments at the simplest knowable level as well as at the most extensive. One finds at least two aspects common to all structuralism. On one hand, there is the ideal of intrinsic intelligibility. This is based on the assumption that a structure is sufficient in itself and need not require for its understanding recourse to conceptual elements foreign to its nature. On the other hand, it is supposed that when one has found the means for effectively grasping a structure, and, presumably, when one may then seek to make comparisons with other structures, it will be possible to discover certain general and apparently necessary characteristics which structures contain in spite of their variety. With respect to the first aspect, a basic axiom is that a structure is a system of transformations. These transformations appear to operate according to laws that exist within all systems which maintain or enrich themselves without attaining an end outside their own frontiers. These transformations can be further distinguished in three modes: totality, transformation, and self-regulation.3 1. Totality. Every structure is perceived holistically. Is the whole the sum of its parts ? The answer is that there is a constant interplay between the parts and the whole. Each discrete element within a structure determines, and is determined by, the whole with respect to which it is perceived. Hence all structures imply relation; in actual fact these relations in history are dynamic rather than static, and therefore one may conclude that historical structure always implies transformation. 2. Transformation. This term in some of its aspects becomes very complex, particularly in dealing with logical, mathematical, and linguistic transformations. Transformation gives emphasis to
3 For aspects of structuralist theory I am indebted to, and have made summaries and paraphrases from, Jean Piaget, Le Structuralisme (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1968), introduction. 79

Structure and the History of Religions

the change that takes place within structure-the structuring process as compared with what is structured. Transformations take place according to rules; and hence, if one can perceive the law that operates in a given structural process, one will be better able to understand how structures are obtained. 3. Self-regulation. The way that structures conserve their special character and the stability of their frontiers in spite of a capacity for novelty implies that structures are self-regulating. However, the particular rule of self-regulation that applies seems to be highly correlated with the type of structure. Hence, mathematical structures transform according to operation and are selfregulating. The human mind, studied in psychology, appears to transform structurally through feedback self-regulation, while other structures whose mathematical character is not known seem to transform and self-regulate in rhythmic, perhaps cyclical fashion. Many historical processes appear to be of this last kind.4
4 It may not be possible to provide systems of analysis ample and refined enough to account for all aspects of a whole religion. At least Levi-Strauss says, "I have shown that it is never a question of grasping the total society (an enterprise which cannot, strictly speaking, ever be successful), but rather of discerning the levels which are comparable and thus meaningful. I agree that these levels are more numerous, and that each in itself is more difficult to study in our gigantic modern societies than in small primitive tribes" (Claude Levi-Strauss, Structural Anthropology [Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., 1967], pp. 67-68). The same difficulty obtains with respect to the study of religion. It is primarily a matter of technique rather than of the nonexistence of the structures to be understood. By way of example, I would propose the following "analysis" of a statement of Eliade's referring to symbols used in association with the moon: ". . . from the earliest times, certainly since the Neolithic Age, with the discovery of agriculture, the same symbolism has linked together the moon, the sea waters, rain, the fertility of women and of animals, plant life, man's destiny after death and the ceremonies of initiation" (Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion [New York: World Publishing Co., 1963], p. 155). Following the scheme used afterward in the text, four of the phenomena, i.e., sea water, rain, menstrual cycle (i.e., fertility of women), and plant life, could be represented as shown in the table below.
REPRESENTATION OF PHENOMENA

Women a) PI......................... b) PiP(1 + 2) ................. c) [Pi/P(1 + 2)/] ................

d) /[P/,P(1 + 2)/][P3/P(3 + 4)/]/

Plant Life P2 ...

..

Rain P3 P3P(3 + 4) [P3/P(3 + 4)/]

....

Sea Waters
P4

. ...

Even allowing only a single permutation at the P1 level, (b) leads to the complex statement (d) to account for only half of the symbols mentioned by Eliade as being found in association with the moon. This of course takes no account of the specific historical character of the symbols, but only of their general nature. The more specific, the more numerous; and if they were to occur with the same regularity as the structural transformations in linguistics, we would finally need a method of representation refined enough to encompass them. 80

History of Religions
Self-regulation further suggests that, while there are some structures in the process of completion or achieving internal stability, there are others whose capacity seems to include that of incorporation. We conclude that structuralism implies that to the discernment of structures different tools may apply-such as mathematical, symbolic, biological, historical, religious, literary, and the like-and that their distinctive angles may produce contrasting results, save only that they fall within the limits of validity proposed above. It follows, then, that our effort shall be to try to express a theory of historical religious interpretation along the lines of establishing structuralist transformations according to rule. Because of the difficulty in delimiting the boundary of what it is that constitutes a datum in the historical sense-or the most elemental structural item-the point of departure will be a simple set of terms used by Gerardus van der Leeuw, who attempts to establish that we cannot separate the process of knowing historical religious phenomena from the phenomena themselves, that the first structural element in the history of religions is an object related to a subject and a subject related to an object.5 The object is what one apprehends, the subject is oneself. The phenomenon is the subject plus the object, or rather their relationship (O->S). The concept (O->S) shows what can be grasped as a structural item at a very simple level. At the same time, in van der Leeuw's system, (O-->S) stands for the fundamental religious experience; and so there is a fortuitous opening of the historian's need to know what he studies, as though he were in the position of one who experiences that religious phenomenon, toward the structuralist's need to be able to express a system of relations that in fact consists in the transformations that are appropriate to the structure.6
5 Mircea Eliade, whose writings in the field of history of religions have long since demonstrated the implicit structuralism of religious expressions seen as systems of symbols, should also be noted in this connection. In two works, particularly in Patterns in Comparative Religion, and in a different way in From Primitives to Zen (London: Collins, 1967), he has shown how one may amplify upon the conception of structure as depending upon men in contact with objects to show how the religious expressions themselves have been organized on the basis of their inherent conformities which are understood symbolically, as tree, stone, water, moon, sun, pearl, woman, and so on (n. 4 above). But Eliade leads the field, so to speak, and shows what can be done finally to produce an organic historical overview. His work is prophetic. What he has surmised will continue to influence the precise ways in which the structuralism of the religions is ultimately demonstrated. 6 According to van der Leeuw, there are five basic steps in phenomenological activity. One must (1) assign a name to the phenomenon, and (2) interpolate the phenomenon into one's life. This is done through an act of intense sympathy and with the realization that "reality is always my reality, history my history, 81

Structure and the History of Religions

Although van der Leeuw does not go further than to posit (O<-S), it would seem possible that a system of structural relations could be founded upon it. Let us consider the case of bhakti. Here we are dealing with a very numerous set of phenomena-phenomenon is expressed as (O-S) = P-that in themselves are structurally distinct. It is convenient first to analyze (O-S) = P for its precise constituents. Hence we find that 0 > RO > RE, where 0 is really the religious object, RO, which is apprehended as RE or the religious expression. The S is further analyzable into RS> RI, the religious subject being the point of view upon the expression. What one apprehends is not the object in itself but the religious impression (related to Husserl's eidetic reduction as interpreted by van der Leeuw), the RI. Understanding, then, that what we have is (0 > RO > RE*->RI < RS < S) = P, we can continue to use (0O-+S)= P as our simplest structural element. To comprehend the variety within the bhakti mode (M1) we would have to distinguish a series of phenomena related to Krsna, Rama, Radha, Sita, Visnu, Siva, and others. In the case of Krsna alone we deal with a series (0->S)P1 + (0->S)P2, etc. This can be simplified as in figure 1. One set of such relations could be called a type, or T, and expressed as in figure 2. Another set, for instance having to do with Rama, could be expressed as in figure 3. All those types relating to Krsna can be called a system, or Sy, and be expressed as in figure 4. All those relating to Rama can be
P, + eto. P2 FIG. 1
T

PI + etc. P2 FIG. 2

P1
T2

+ etc.

P2 FIG. 3

the retrogressive prolongation of man now living.... When the professor is told by the barbarian that once there was nothing except a great feathered serpent, unless the learned man feels a thrill and a half temptation to wish it were thus, he is no judge of such things at all." This aspect of phenomenology results in a widening of the consciousness of the investigator. (3) The third step is of an extremely characteristic nature. The so-called epoche (fixed instant) must be erected around the phenomenon, exercising restraint, and so on. For phenomenology there is nothing behind the appearance. This is not just a methodological device, but a distinctive attitude toward reality. All speculations about the object (the question of its true existence, its value, its selfness, etc.) are foregone in order to treat the appearance in and for itself. (One may say that the epoche is the turning point in phenomenological method.) (4) It involves clarifying what appears, i.e., uniting all that belongs to the same order and separating what does not. This is done solely on the grounds of structure. The aim is to arrange structures within ever larger wholes of significance. (5) As a final step, one might say that phenomenology involves submitting to perpetual correction by the most exacting philological and archaeological research. Without the controls of the sciences of languages, archaeology, social history, and others, phenomenology becomes "pure art or empty fantasy." This analysis and the quotations are found in Gerardus van der Leeuw, Religion in Essence and Manifestation (Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1967), epilogomena. 82

History of Religions
T1 Syl T
+ etc.

T1 Sy2 T2

P1

+ etc.

+ (etc.) PI+ P2

P1

etc.

P2 + (etc.) P1
+ etc.

P2

FIG. 4

FIo. 5

expressed as in figure 5, and the Visnu modality (Mdl) can be expressed as in figure 6. A second modality of Siva (Md2) would be indicated to give further shape to the bhakti mode, as in figure 7. The juxtaposition of (M1) with (M2) and other modes in the Hindu complex (C) would give us a preliminary statement of totality with respect to Hinduism. Succinctly stated, one may conclude of Hinduism that C = M1 + M2 (ETC.).7
T1 Syl
T

P1
P2

etc. <+ + (etc.)

etc. + ETC. + etc.

PI
1+

Md'
T,

P2
pi

Sy2
T1

P1
P2

+ (etc.)
+ etc. +(ETC.)

T,

P11 + etc. P2

P1
T1 Syl

+ etc. + (etc.)

TSy 2

P1 P1

+ etc.

P1
Ta + etc.

Md'
T1,
Sy2 T2

+ ETC.
+ etc.
+ (etc.) + etc.

Md2
TP

P2
+

ETC.

P1
+ etc.

P2 P1 pi
P2

P1
T2

P2

1 + etc.

FIG. 6.-Visnu

FIG. 7.-Bhakti

7 In further substantiation of the structural theory, one might point out that, according to Levi-Strauss, there is a possibility that laws governing history may be rather precise: "The question may be raised whether the different aspects of social life (including even art and religion) cannot only be studied by the methods of, and with the help of concepts similar to those employed in linguistics, but also whether they do not constitute phenomena whose inmost nature is the same as that of language. That is ... we may ask whether there are not only 'operational' but also 'substantial' comparabilities between language and culture.... It will be necessary to develop the analysis of the different features of social life, either for a given society or for a complex of societies, so that a deep enough level can be reached to make it possible to cross from one to another; or to express the specific structure of each in terms of a sort of general language, valid for each system separately and for all of them taken together" (p. 61). In a very similar vein, Noam Chomsky attempts to show the way in which certain innate mental characteristics (a mental structuralism) will finally provide the formula which, 83

Structure and the History of Religions

CONSTRUCTION

One will see from the foregoing discussion that the context of the analysis of modes of transformation in Hindu bhakti sects in its terms would be kept within the rather severe framework of the data. Because of this, one would stay clear of any attempt that
within limits, can explain the structuralism in language. One might look at his historical survey of the relevance of mind to linguistic process in his Beckman Lectures, Language and Mind (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968). There he says, "We must postulate an innate structure that is rich enough to account for the disparity between experience and knowledge, one that can account for the construction of the empirically justified generative grammars within the The factual situation is obscure given limitations of time and access to data.... enough to leave room for much difference of opinion over the true nature of this innate mental structure that makes the acquisition of language possible" (p. 69 and passim). These statements, which are in the nature of hints, further corroborate one's belief that whether it be a structuralism based on a concept of generative grammar, or the mathematical character of language, or some other, derived from statistical complexities in various data, the weight of evidence falls increasingly on the side of these kinds of approaches as providing models for making historical religious structuralism intelligible. To conclude these remarks, a judgment of the taxonomic character of the analysis presented in this paper might make reference to the L6vi-Straussian "transformation" formula, wherein the inversional bipolar relation is emphasized. Levi-Strauss has stated his position as follows (one might note that a somewhat simplified version of his points appeared in the essay, "The Structural Study of Myth," first published in 1955 in Bibliographical and Special Series of the American Folklore Society, vol. 5): "Finally, when we have succeeded in organizing a whole series of variants into a kind of permutation group, we are in a position to formulate the law of that group. Although it is not possible at the present stage to come closer than an approximate formulation which will certainly need to be refined in the future, it seems that every myth (considered as the aggregate of all its variants) corresponds to a formula of the following type: Fx(a): Fy(b) F.,(b): Fa_l(y). Here, with two terms, a and b, being given as well as two functions, x and y, of these terms, it is assumed that a relation of equivalence exists between two situations defined respectively by an inversion of terms and relations, under two conditions: (1) that one term be replaced by its opposite (in the above formula, a and a-1); (2) that an inversion be made between the function value and the term value of two elements (above, y and a)" (p. 225). It will not be possible here to comment on the well-known examples upon which Levi-Strauss based his now famous formula. It seems to me that the variants in the expression of the transformation when applied to myth, wherein two relatively simple terms and functions are involved, however obscure the process of transformation in the etiology of those terms and functions in a particular myth (as witnessed by his brilliant study, The Raw and the Cooked), cannot work very effectively for our interpretation of those religious structures to which myth contributes a vital component but one that itself is transformed into act and life in the cult. The "transiting modes and modalities" of my system, which in all modesty I might suggest are the "functions" of L6viStrauss's, as it were, seine through the stream of history and with the fish therein at the same time produce from a basic product certain names or terms; for example, one to be eaten with chips in an English fish-and-chips house, another as fillet of sole amandine. Indeed, the varieties of function are enormous in the historical stream but, if anything, outreached by the names or terms that accrue to the specialites de la maison. We append an etc. at every crucial point in our nominal and transiting diagrams to indicate the dynamic character of relationship in history and also the future, for which our appetite for true understanding is constantly whetted by fresh data. Perhaps where we find a combination of elements of a size sufficient to be transformed according to the L6vi-Straussian rule, there we can enjoy a truly exquisite meal! 84

History of Religions
P1
T1 P2
Sy' + etc. + (etc.)

T1
Syl

P1 +etc.
P2
+ (etc.)

T2
NM1Md

+etc.
+

+ etc.
<

I P1 T,

ETC.

Tr P1 T1

ETC.

+etc.

+etc.

P2

Sy2 T2

+(etc.)

P1 + etc. 2P2 FIG. 8

Sy2 T2

P2 + P1 P2

(etc.)

+ etc.

transforms a modality of religious history into something perhaps equally interesting or significant, such as psychological or economic force, but with a meaning that must be established on the basis of a different approach. It will be our intention to see as clearly as possible, with brief illustrations, what the outlines are of the form of the religious expression to which our subject is addressed. Before proceeding, we can propose that the structural characteristics of the form can be symbolized as in figure 8. The only thing in figure 8 that we have not yet discussed is the variation in modes and the possibilities suggested in their interactions. Hence, here (NM) stands for the nominal mode and (TrM) stands for the transiting mode (the arrow implying that there is a flow of the more dynamic to the more static, although these distinctions may not everywhere hold in the relationship). The nominal mode states a self-defined datum, for instance bhakti, with its modalities, for instance Visnu (NMd ). The transiting mode establishes a generic category in time, for instance social differentiation (TrMl), with its secondary modalities, for instance monastic (TrTl). It appears that the nominal modes and modalities will occur from place to place, in various languages, and so forth. In spite of the dynamism of historical structures, most descriptions of them that fail to distinguish at least these two modes often convey the impression of a static state; but this does not seem to hold true to the principle of transformation. Against this buildup, we can indicate briefly the developments in leadership and way of life following the death(s) of a founder or leading figures in several Hindu bhakti sects. The way had been somewhat prepared for the consideration of this aspect of Hinduism in two earlier articles.8 At least within the structural guidelines that I have been able to discover, there would not be a strong case for clearly distinguishing the relative issues involved in an
8 See n. 2 above.

85

Structure and the History of Religions

analysis of a sect, its leadership, its worship, or its social structure in the different periods of Indian religious history. Of course there is a fantastic difference from one period to another, and constant change, but at least theoretically there should always be appropriate modes for the data and their modalities, and these should be transformationally related. In considering the nature of a modern Indian religious expression that could be called "The Sai Baba Movement,"9 it seemed to me that it emerged out of a complex set of relations that would include structures transmitted from the ancient history of India, as well as from the immediate context of events in the recent past. It was, methodologically speaking, an exercise in establishing the nominal modes and modalities of a religious structure, there briefly distinguished in the three levels of analysis, namely, "demonstration, organization, and intention," the first two of which are under further consideration here. In the second paper, entitled "Swami Muktananda and the Enlightenment through !akti-Pat,"10 a first attempt was made to establish what some of the limits might be of the transiting modes and modalities of the "saint" in reference to the nominal characteristics in the material concerning Swami Muktananda. In fact, among the categories that seemed likely to occur often in the histories of saints were such as the following, which I quote from my unpublished notes:
1. There is some form of confirmation of the saint's social role. He begins to attract followers and a social institution, sometimes of sizable proporIt probably requires tions, arises in which he functions as the leader.... that the saint have fully demonstrated certain capacities until his life's end before a more authoritative consensus can be reached. Even then there is discussion about the extent of "realization" of particular saints. 2. There is the interaction of the saint with the group of devotees whom he knows rather well and that includes his intimate disciples who live with him and who may be few in number. There may also be a "chosen" disciple.... 3. If some time has passed, there may be a body of secondary literature and the involvement of many other interesting and sometimes saintly of a widespread cult of persons ... and there may be the establishment the saint as deity.

Similarly, reflecting upon figure 8, let us say that what we are trying to discover here is the relationship between such transiting characteristics as social differentiation (TrMl), sect (Trsyi), monastic life (TrTy), and saint (Trpi), and the nominal modes and modalities of bhakti, with its systems involving Ramite and Krsnite
9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. 86

History of Religions
saints and their named sects (e.g., T,, etc.). More specifically, we will consider points in the structures of named saints (P,, etc.) that mark the transition from the period of foundation to the continuation of the sect after the passing of the founder. It might be useful to add here the observation that Hinduism, lacking a central figure such as the Buddha or the Christ, and because of its extremely elaborate and varied mythologies, allows for the most sweeping kind of structural development. Comparably important or even numerically larger religions, such as Christianity and Islam, begin, so to speak, at a certain point in the structural diagram, for example with a savior or prophet, and then in a somewhat narrower way undergo a kind of intense subdivision. Thus, when we begin to analyze Hindu sects we are roughly where, in its own terms, Christianity begins, whereas Hinduism' sample boundaries far outreach the sects which contribute only some of its modalities.
EXAMPLES

The medieval sects (Trsyl) that we shall refer to have all survived into modern times. The first three, the Kabirpanth (T,), the Ramdasi (T2), and the Varkarisampradaya (T3), are strongly influenced by the ideals of Rarnite (Sy2) or Sant (Sy4) bhakti, with emphasis upon the exalted, unitary nature of God or the Absolute, that is, Brahman. The fourth, the Radhavallabhasampradaya (T4), is a Krsnite (Sy') sect with a dualist or even pluralist conception of the nature of reality and with Radha as the Supreme Being. All of these sects have to some extent depended for their survival upon a succession of realized saints (Trpi, etc.) or dynastic mahants (Trp4). 1. The Kabirpanth (T1).-Among the best known of all the Indian saints, Kabir (P,), who was a dedicated nondualist, came to be regarded by his followers after his death as a manifestation of God. From the time of Kabir onward, one of the motives of various Hindu groups, from such extreme early modernists as the Brahmo Samaj to more traditionalist groups like the Sai Baba sectarians, has been to reconcile Muslims and Hindus (Sy3). In fact, the position of the Sufis and the Vedantists (advaita) was inherently similar. Kabir's theological contribution to the development of Hinduism has been discussed elsewhere and his ties with modern Indian sects briefly indicated in a previous article." Kabir's rejection of honors, his austere life, and the ironic view he
1 White, "The Sai Baba Movement."

87

Structure and the History of Religions

held of those who attempted to confine the God he experienced inwardly within the artificial boundaries of competing sects, rituals, images, and so on might appeal to any religiously sensitive person.
(He expressed these views in Hindi poetry
[Trp2]

that is highly

regarded.) After his death his followers divided into several groups. His tomb became and remains the possession of Muslims, who honor the saint in the manner of a Sufi Pir with ceremonies at the Dargdh (tomb), including a sacramental meal, burning incense, and offering obeisance to the mahant (Trp4). The components of these actions are as Hindu in their general outlines as Muslim, but a close examination of the modalities of Muslim and Hindu saint worship would reveal appropriate distinctions. For instance, the shrine of a Muslim saint would normally not have an image or a painting of the preceptor. What is at stake in the persistence of the sect (Trsy,) is its ability to provide the followers of the saint with a sense of continuing communion with him, and one of the transiting modes of saint-oriented sectarianism is the succession (TrM6) from the saint through later leaders. There may also be ritual (TrM3) to convey a sense of continuity. One section of the Kabirpanth was founded by Dharm Das (P2), who, according to the teachings of that sect, was the chosen disciple (Trp3) of Kabir (P,). His second son, named Churaman, was installed as the successor or first dynastic mahant (Trp4) of the sect. "Kabir foretold that his descendants should sit upon the Gaddi [the throne cushion, symbol of the teaching and charismatic authority of the saint] for 42 generations (Bans), and declared that the right to communicate the MANTRA would be confined to his descendants." 2 (The mantra [TrT4], of course, is a sacred phrase, used in the initiation of many sectarians. Such a phrase is used in meditation and is recited, sometimes constantly, on a mdld, or rosary. The initiation may also include an unusual psychic experience that confirms the power of the guru.) Among other sacramental acts in the Kabirpanth is the taking of carandmrta (TrT4) of the mahant (Trp4), described as follows: "Charanamrita is... the water in which have been washed the feet of the Head Mahant, Kabir's representative upon earth. This water is mixed with fine earth and then made up into pills. These pills may either be swallowed whole, or pounded up, mixed with water and drunk." 13 Following the typology in figure 8, one would
12 G. H. Westcott, Kabir and the Kabir Panth, 2d ed. (Calcutta: Susil Gupta, Ltd., 1953), p. 72. 13 Ibid., p. 79. 88

History of Religions also point out that membership in the panth is mixed (TrT2), consisting of men and women called bairdgzs, a Vaisnava ascetic's name. The mahant in the Dharm Das sect observes conjugal relations with his wife only until the birth of the first son, when both husband and wife revert to the celibate monastic mode. Westcott reported on the Kabirpanth in 1907. I myself visited the Kabir Caura Math in Banaras in 1965 and can attest to the activities there at that time. 2. The Ramdasipanth (T2).-The main study of this sect remains that of Deming 14 in the Religious Life of India Series, that excellent collection of missionary analyses of popular Indian religion in the period before independence. Ramdas flourished in Maharashtra, in central India, while Kabir spent his life in and around Banaras. Both share similarities in the sense that they fall within (NM1Nsy2, etc.). They are both nirguni bhaktas (TrT3) as well. Ramdas was regarded by many as an incarnation (Trp5) of Hanuman, the monkey devotee of Sri Rama. The mythical orientation (TrM4) of the saint and his followers is more directly toward the Rama of the classical epic, including idol worship (TrT5), which was disallowed by Kabir. One of the most interesting aspects of the sect's history was its establishment as the official "church" of 6ivaji, the founder of the Maratha kingdom and the main champion of the Hindu cause against the Muslims toward the end of the Middle Ages. Sivaji accepted Ramdas as his guru and in a famous incident deeded all his lands to the saint, who in turn remitted them to the king as his vicar. Sivaji also used the ascetic's robe of the Ramdasi as the national flag. 8ivaji was supposed to have been initiated with the mantra (TrT4), "sri Rama, jaya Rama, jaya jaya Rama-Victory to Rama." 15Naturally, the relationship with the rulers of the state, which continued until the fall of the Maratha kingdom in 1817, gave tremendous prestige to the sect. On the other hand, it was never strongly entrenched among the masses of the region. Ramdas himself was an intellectual of great capacities both as organizer and creative thinker and writer, but he was not succeeded by disciples who were of the calibre of the founder; nor did the provisions made for the continuation of the sect allow for a clearly defined leadership (TrT7) or a satisfying sacramental or liturgical (TrT4) system to bear the continuity. As Deming puts it,
14 Wilbur S. Deming, Rdmdas and the Rdmddsis, Religious Life of India Series (Calcutta: Association Press, 1928). 15 Ibid., p. 53.

89

Structure and the History of Religions

... the movement may be divided into three periods: First, the period when Ramdas was alive, 1648-81; second, the period ending with the fall of the Maratha kingdom, 1681-1817; third, the period extending to the present time. These periods might also be designated as the period of extensive influence, the period of restricted influence, and the period of little influence. ... It is the story of a movement that achieved tremendous prestige under the dominating influence of a great personality; and then, when he was removed from the scene, of its slow disintegration, until our own day, in which it plays a minor part.16

Somewhat differently, Deleury echoes this judgment when he says, "While the Ramdasis spread all over Maharashtra within a very short time, their Panth was strictly composed of Brahmins and the movement did not long outlast its founder." 17 3. The Varkdrisampraddya (T3).18-Among truly popular movements in India, this sect is one of the oldest and at the same time most persistent. Unlike the others we are describing here, its main focus is upon a form of Visnu, known as Vithoba, whose temple is found at Pandharpur in central Maharashtra. The image (TrTs) there is the main object of worship of the sect. It is a curiously shaped, "archaic" idol whose origins are unknown. The underlying structure of the Vithoba cult is to a degree syncretistic, combining features of Saivism, including the doctrine that Vithoba is both Visnu and Siva. If we were to represent it symbolically, although it would fall under (NM1), it would be part of a new subsystem (Nsy5), deriving from (NMdl) and (NMd2) under the rubric of syncretism (TrM2), in short (M1MdlMd2TrM2Sy5). Combined with the cult of Vithoba is also a group of saints (P6P7P8P9), many of whom (Trp2) wrote excellent devotional poetry, called abhamgs. Honoring the guru (TrT1) coexists with the cult of the idol (TrT,); and a whole series of religious activities joins the temple center at Pandharpir with the samddhis (Trl12), or burial places, of the various saints. For the followers of the panth, pilgrimage to the centers as a group on certain feast days, the recitation of the rosary, vegetarianism, and a few other relatively simple rules constitute the discipline. Although some of the saints were celibate, the Varkaris are generally householders (TrT8). The main saints of the sect are Jinandev (ca. 1290) (P6), Namdev (supposed to be contemporary of Jinndev) (P7), Eknath (sixteenth century) (Ps), and Tukaram (ca. 1650) (Pg).
Ibid., p. 145. G. A. Deleury, The Cult of Vithoba (Poona: Deccan College, 1960), p. 17. However, Deleury is incorrect in saying the Ramdasi sect no longer exists. 18 The main study of this sect is the work of Deleury, mentioned in the preceding note. 90
17 16

History of Religions
The survival of this vital sect to modern times was perhaps as much due to the variety of possibilities within its ideology, the uncommon fervor of its saintly heroes who are exemplary for all, and the fact that it cut through caste lines (TrT9), becoming a truly popular movement not dependent upon a remote class of preceptors or priests, as to any other formal characteristics that one might propose. It is well known in India that certain temples are much more powerful than others, the gods thereof responding readily to petitions or manifesting their relationship to the devotee in other ways. In this respect, Pandharpuir (TrTs), together with Purl, Tirupati, and a few others, is renowned throughout India. No doubt this contributes to the enthusiasm of the Varkaris. 4. The Rddhavallabhasampraddya (T4).19-The founder of this sect was a saint named Sri Hit Harivarms (Po1), who flourished in Vrndavan, near Mathura, perhaps between 1503 and 1553. He is said by his followers to have initiated the great revival of Krsnite devotion in Vrndavan, formerly a forest, where an extensive town can now be found, largely consecrated to the activities of the Vaisnava sects associated with Krsna and dating from that time. For the followers of the sect, the main impetus to devotion is not to the saint himself, although he is revered in some sense as an "incarnation" of Radha and Krsna (Trps), nor to his descendants, the dynastic family leaders (Trp4) of the sampraddya who are regarded as "saints" (not because of their special spiritual attainments, but because of their blood relation to Harivahms and the fact that they are empowered to initiate their followers into the sect), but rather to a literary myth (TrM4), written in excellent poetry (Trp2), that tells the story of Radha and her relationship with Krsna. The theology of the sect states that through devotion to Radha one can be reborn into paradise with her and Krsna and live forever, witnessing the amorous sports of the divine couple. Thus, the teaching is thoroughly dualist, and, like that of other North Indian Krsnite sects, it is capable, apparently on the basis of the sheer power of the myth aided by the singing of hymns, pujd (TrM3),and the imaginative reliving of life with the divinities, of holding generation after generation of devotees. Its transiting modalities provide for a dynastic hierarchy of married teachers (TrT'1), whose spiritual ministration is made effective through the
19 The principal works on this sect are Vijyendra Snatak, Rddhdvallabha Sampraddy Sidhdnt aur Sdhitya (Delhi: National Publishing House, 1968); and N. S. Shukla, Le Karndnanda de Krsnaddsa (Pondich6ry: Institut Fran?ais d'Indologie, 1971). 91

Structure and the History of Religions

power of the goddess whom they represent. The ethos of the sect is middle class and its followers mostly well to do, although the exact components of its membership have not been analyzed. In fact, it is one of the numerous sects whose caste structure, modes of transformation, and relationship to other aspects of Hinduism remain very unclear. I myself have translated one of the literary works of the founder from Braj Bhasa into English.20 I have witnessed the sect's religious activities and visited its main shrines and have seen the adulation bestowed upon the gosvdmis (Trps) by the present inhabitants of Vrndavan, who rush forward to prostrate and touch their feet whenever there is an opportunity. Their main relationship to their disciples, evidently a basis of the sect's continuity from one generation to another, apart from what has been said above, is revealed in the following quotation from a conversation I had with one of the gosvamis: The disciplesare initiated by being broughtby the guru into the sanctuary wherethey are allowedto touch the image of rri Radhavallabha[the image of Krsna; Radha is generally consideredtoo holy to be shown in human form], and are told the mantra. The mantracannot be repeatedto one who has not been initiated. It consistsof twelve words.Anyonecan be a member of the Sampradayawho believes in the doctrines and is independently minded.The eldermen of the familiesof gosvamisgive gurudiks and teach a the aspirants. They are direct descendants of Harivars. Only gosvamis can worshipthe image, and they are the hereditaryownersof the temples. Anyone can go and see the image from a distance. There are about eighty families of gosvamis and about five lakhs of followersfound in all parts of India. The majority of the members live in Gujrat, Maharashtraand MadhyaPradeshbut they can be found in other areasas well. The gosvamis marry only in the Gaur Brahmancaste, but their followersmay marry in any caste which is appropriateto them. All receive gurudiksa,irrespective of caste. The Radhavallabhagosvamisare relatedto the Caitanyagosvamis in that they belong to the GaurBrahmancaste.21 In conclusion, it may be helpful to reassemble a part of the structural character of the sects we have briefly introduced as subjects of the system we are attempting to establish. Such a diagram, itself being the implicit description of the modalities of these groups transforming themselves from one period to another, demands close scrutiny. Among the inferences that might be drawn from this analysis is that there may be some relationship between the durability of these Hindu movements, the existence of a clearly established line of succession in the leadership among them, and diversity in their
20 CharlesS. J. Asian Studies at White, The CaurdsiPad of Sri Hit Harivarms, Hawaii, no. 16 (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1977). 21 Ibid., p. 28. 92

(T:) (TrTI)
(TrT2) (TrT3)

(TrT4) Bhakti (Ml) (TrM1) Social differentiation (TrM2) Syncretism (Trm3) Ritual (TrM4) Myth (TrMS) Sexual role (Trme) Succession (Md') Visnu (Md2) ~iva (Sy') (Trsyl) (Trs 2) (Sy2) (Trs5i) (Sy') (Sy4)
(Trsyl)
(sy5)

K?sniite Sect Role inversion R&mite Muslim/Hindu Sant

Visnu/8iva

(TO)
(TrT5)

KabIrpanth Monastic Mixed Sexes Nirgunli (Monistic) Sacramentals Rdmdfsipanth

Idol worship

(TrT1)(TrT3)(TrT4)

(TrTT)
(TrT7) (T3)

Uppercaste leader Ill-defined successi Vfrkarisampradfiya

(TrTr) (TrT8)
(TrT9)

Householder life Intercaste member (TrTlo) Power of the temp (TrTll) Guru cult (TrT12) Burial site cult (T4) Rdidhdivallabhasam

(TrT4)(TrTS)(TrT11)

FIG. 9.-Read by columns. This diagram is meant to be illustrative and not completely e to the particular, showing the intermingling of nominal and transiting modes and modalit

to

CI?

Structure and the History of Religions

membership and/or "popularity." For instance, the Ramdasi sect that depended upon an upper-caste membership, and at the same time failed in providing a strong succession, appeared in this context to be less durable into modern times. By contrast, the Radhavallabhis remain relatively small, perhaps due to uppercaste leadership and inversion in the Radha/Krsna roles (TrTeTrMsTrsy2Syl), yet durable because of the power of myth In and sacramentals and dynastic mahant (TrM4TrT4Trp4). short: These characteristics seem (TrTsTrM5Trsy2Sy )( TrM4TrT4Trp4). to be drawn from the events arising in the intermingling (#) of modes and modalities, transiting the nominal base. Finally, of equal interest is the sheer perception of structure. A sincere effort at sorting out names from grid-forming concepts (preliminarily sketched in figure 9 but to be taken up again in a later article) begins to create the multidimensionality of the religious expression. It seems apparent that there can be no abiding clarity in statements about historical-religious expressions unless the relationships to which they advert are capable of being structurally symbolized. American University

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